This application discloses an invention that is related, generally and in various embodiments, to systems and methods for determining an earnings portion of a distribution from a 529 plan.
With the increased recognition of the importance of higher education, more and more people are determined to attend college after graduating from high school. Unfortunately, the cost of attending college continues to rise. To help make attending college more affordable, many states have enacted legislation to establish financial products commonly known as 529 plans. Money invested in a 529 plan accumulates on a tax-deferred basis, thereby making it an attractive investment vehicle for meeting future college education expenses. Generally, for a given state, the state awards a mandate to a program manager to administer the 529 plan authorized by the state. The program manager may subsequently authorize other providers (e.g., mutual fund companies) to run their own 529 plans under the program manager's mandate. Each account in a 529 plan of a given state has an owner and a beneficiary associated therewith. The beneficiary can be the beneficiary of multiple accounts, and each account may have a different owner.
Generally, each state sets a maximum limit associated with a 529 plan account beneficiary, and the administrator of each 529 plan is responsible for complying with the state's maximum limit. For some 529 plans, the maximum limit concerns a total fair market value for 529 plan accounts having the same beneficiary. For other 529 plans, the maximum limit concerns a total value of contributions made to 529 plan accounts having the same beneficiary.
Internal Revenue Service regulations require 529 plans determine an earnings portion of each distribution made therefrom as of the date of the distribution. When the distribution is for a 529 plan account that has the same owner/beneficiary combination as one or more additional 529 plan accounts, each of the 529 plan accounts having the same owner/beneficiary combination need to be aggregated in order to determine the correct earnings portion of the distribution. There may be any number of accounts that need to be aggregated.
From the foregoing, it is apparent that the regulatory burden imposed on administrators of 529 plans can be significant. Unfortunately, many administrators are not currently able to meet the various requirements in a uniform, cost-effective manner.